Over 3,000 missing person cases for Essex

ESSEX Police dealt with 3,438 reports of missing persons last year, new figures show.

That’s nine calls every single day. A detailed breakdown of the figures shows that the 3,438 incidents related to 2,653 different individuals – 1,402 adults and 1,251 children. A report by the National Crime Agency’s Missing Persons Bureau showed nationally, there were 315,517 missing person reports in the last financial year – up from 307,418 the year before.

That works out as more than 6,000 missing persons reports each week – or 864 a day.

Mark Smith, Chairman of Essex Police Federation, said: “These people are vulnerable and we are there to look after the vulnerable people in our society.  Yes, it is a huge drain on our resources. Sadly the Government would have you believe we only fight crime but it is a very small part of what we do.”

Nationally, children and teenagers accounted for more than half of all cases (54%).

Three quarters of reports were resolved within a day and 85% within 48 hours.

The majority (96%) of people reported missing were found safe and well.

For the first time the figures for England and Wales include a breakdown of how many individuals were the subject of those calls.

The 275,000 calls received by forces related to 137,000 separate individuals, meaning a number of cases involve people going missing multiple times.

Joe Apps, head of the NCA’s UK Missing Persons Bureau, said: “These figures offer an important insight and demonstrate that we need to keep striving to understand the reasons why people go missing in the first place.

“Fortunately the vast majority of cases are resolved quickly and result in people returning safe and well, however we should remember that each involves an individual and can cause great distress to their loved ones.

“Missing episodes can be indicators of other vulnerabilities – including mental health issues, physical abuse or sexual exploitation, so we need to maximise our efforts to keep vulnerable people safe and support those affected by missing events.”